What is a 'Hasselhoff?' Your doctor might know

What is a "Hasselhoff," in doctor-speak? Does eating turkey really make you unusually sleepy? Why is it better to celebrate a big victory with champagne rather than beer?

Those are some of the questions addressed in the British Medical Journal's annual Christmas issue, which collects some of the more arcane reports it received during the year.

Another report in the journal deals with the advantages conferred by high altitudes.

Many athletes train at high altitudes because they think the lower air pressure makes their bodies produce more hemoglobin, increasing their endurance. A new study by the Systems Analysis, Modeling and Prediction Group of the University of Oxford shows that the benefits also hold for teams.

In medical terminology, a Hasselhoff is a patient who shows up at an emergency room with an injury and a bizarre explanation, said Dr. Paul Keeley of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary in a short compendium of newly minted words used by doctors.

The term commemorates former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff, who famously struck his head on a chandelier while shaving. The broken glass severed four tendons and an artery in his right arm, requiring immediate surgery.

Even snarkier is the term "Ringo," after Beatle Ringo Starr, referring to a member of a team who is expendable. Draw your own conclusions.

Other new terms include: disco biscuit, another name for the drug Ecstasy; Jack Bauer, a doctor still up and working after 24 hours; and testiculation, "the holding forth with expressive hand gestures by a consultant on a subject in which he or she has little knowledge."

The turkey myth is one that often comes up this time of year and is attributed to the supposed high levels of sleep-inducing tryptophan in the birds, wrote Dr. Rachel C. Vreeman of the Indiana University School of Medicine and Dr. Aaron E. Carroll of the Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis in a study of medically oriented old wives' tales that are still believed by many doctors.

A study of the literature, however, shows that turkey, chicken and beef contain similar levels of tryptophan; pork and cheese contain even more. A more likely explanation for drowsiness after Christmas dinner is eating too much and, perhaps, consuming wine with the meal.

Other tales unproven or flatly wrong include: We use only 10 percent of our brains; hair and fingernails continue to grow after death; reading in dim light ruins your eyesight; shaving causes hair to grow back faster and coarser; and cell phones are dangerous in hospitals.

The brain tale is particularly widespread, but it is absolutely wrong. Imaging studies of the brain in action show that all brain cells are in constant use.

To discover whether teams can get high performance out of altitude, the Oxford University group studied the results of 1,460 soccer matches played in 10 countries over a 100-year period and found that high-altitude teams have a distinct advantage.

When two teams trained and lived at the same altitude, the home team's winning percentage was 53.7 percent.

But when the home team's stadium was about 3,700 yards higher than that of the visiting team - such as when a team from Rio de Janeiro played in La Paz, Bolivia - the home team's winning percentage was 82.5 percent. Conversely, when La Paz played in Rio, the home team's winning percentage was only 21.3 percent. Similar discrepancies were observed for other teams as well.

The authors' conclusion: High-altitude training presents a distinct advantage for high-altitude teams playing at both low and high elevations.

And finally, an Australian physician addressed the importance of champagne, which has been used in celebrations since the 18th century.

Dr. Robert J. Douglas of the Royal Adelaide Hospital reported the case of an Australian-rules football player who came to the emergency room having difficulty breathing after his team had won the premiership.

Physicians quickly discovered a round metallic object with scalloped edges in his windpipe - a beer bottle cap that he accidentally had swallowed while being sprayed.

An examination of medical literature showed no similar examples of impaired breathing caused by champagne corks. Hence, their recommendation: Stick to champagne for raucous celebrations.